So Glad I found this site in time

[Ell-enn]

I only discovered this site a couple of weeks ago and have been addicted every day since - the amount of knowledge and confidence you all give is tremendous.

I'm not sure if this is the right section to post this but -

Yesterday an employee came to me (as HR manager) and showed me a notice of eviction for tomorrow at 12 noon. He explained he would need time off to sort something out. It transpired that he had got into a terrible mess with his mortgage and had just buried his head in the sand until he received the eviction notice. As he lives on his own and is quite a solitary person he had told no-one of his predicament. I managed to get out of him that he had an endowment policy which if surrendered would more than cover the arrears. A phone call to the insurance company confirmed this and within half an hour they faxed confirmation of the amount he would receive.

Next thing I did was log on to CAG and after 20 minutes or so of reading I downloaded the N244 form from the courtservice website, filled it in with him, wrote him a letter of support as his employer and affixed the fax from the insurance company. He took it straight to the local court and was told he could see the district judge at 10 am this morning.

He rang me at 10.30 to say that he had been given a stay of 28 days to allow for the surrender of the policy to complete.

I cannot tell you the relief that man felt - he was in tears.

This was all due to this wonderful site. He has promised to make a donation as soon as he has received his funds and cleared his arrears.

If this is not the right place for this post please can a mod move it? Many thanks. Ell Enn

[diskmandave]

What a wonderful story! Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

 

Well done you for helping your guy out!!

 

 

Best wishes, Dave.

[Ell-enn]

Thanks DMD, it's good to know that I can get advice for any other employees who might need it........

 

I've just got to fight my own battles now, and with the help on this site I'm nowhere near as scared as I was 2 weeks ago!

[Having_A_Knightmare]

Nice one Ell-enn its good to here storys like that:)

 

RO

[Goldlady]

Fabulous news Ell-enn - brought tears to my eyes too - I just wonder how many people lose their homes because they haven't got anyone to turn to and are too scared to go to court. Power to the people:D

[Ell-enn]

Thanks HAK.

Goldlady, thanks too - people just don't know that they can challenge something which they think is a "done deed". This chap would just have stood outside his house and let it happen tomorrow - it just doesn't bear thinking about... he had nowhere to go and as he doesn't drive couldn't have got even a few of his personal effects moved. He went home at 11 am and slept till 6 this evening - he hadn't slept for more than a couple of hours a day over the last 2 weeks. I can't tell you how much this has touched my life.......

[Curlyben]

Nice one Ell-enn.

I wish my HR dept was as proactive as you.

[Ell-enn]

Curlyben, to be fair, having had (and still have) financial trauma my own life makes me much more sympathetic to the plight of others and also recognise the need to react quickly. Unfortunately not everyone in trouble is able to muster the fight. A lot of of HR departments are more concerned with performance statistics than applying the duty of care they have to their employees - but we can't change the world in a day can we!

I've got to see a guy this morning who has been having a lot of time off "sick" and has admitted to his line manager that he has serious debt problems - guess where I'll be logging onto in an hour or so................ ?

[djdave]

I wish I'd known about this site when my mate was about to lose his house, things might have turned out very different.

 

I'd so glad that there's genuine instances of people finding practical help through CAG - and HR people who are willing to take a more holistic view of employee welfare

[sosumi]

Ell-enn, you did a wonderful thing. I did read this yesterday and was very moved. You have therefore been tickled! xx

[Ell-enn]

Thanks for the tickle Sosumi - just logged on again to see if I can get some info for another employee who's in trouble - fortunately not as bad as monday's situation, but bad enough. It's unbelievable how many people are suffering with debt - I look after nearly 250 employees here and in 48 hours have had 2 instances debt problems thats 1% of the workforce (that we know about!!!). There are probably others who won't - or can't - bring themselves to admit it!! what a minefield...........

[oneofakind]

You have therefore been tickled!

 

I second that. Well done!

 

[kfdh1962]

Hi Ell-enn, what a fabulouse story, and a great thing you did. Above and beyond the call of duty... good for you...

[Ell-enn]

Given my experiences over the last couple of days - I've decided to enrol on a consumer law course - might even be able to persuade my employers to pay for it on the grounds that it will help me to deal with employee welfare situations. Found a couple which might be suitable - will keep you all informed when I get started.

[babybear39]

It's very refreshing to see an HR Manager with your attitude and compassion

 

Keep up the good work

[diskmandave]

I've decided to enrol on a consumer law course

 

I've been thinking along those lines too.

[Ell-enn]

I've always suscribed to the "Human" part of HR ....... no self respecting HR practitioner should be just a management tool !!! it's a practice that's worked for me for 10 years. Mind you - it helps if you have a bit of "life experience" behind you when dealing with people - it takes all sorts, as they say.

[sequenci]

great story! was this for mortgage or rent btw?

[Ell-enn]

It was for mortgage arrears - Nat West...

[NitrousOxide]

Well done,

Somehow it always feels better to me solving other peoples problems as well as my own.

His mortgage may have unfair penalty charges as well

[rory32]

Well done Ell-enn.

 

1.7 million people last year sought debt advice from the CAB alone (figures are estimated to be higher this year) and it is estimated that 8 million people in the UK have unsecured debts of £10K or more, so it's not suprising you have a few with serious debt problems in your company.

 

Glad to read that you are actively helping them.

[ODC]

I've been thinking along those lines too.

You could nearly run one on your own DMD:cool:

[Ell-enn]

Nitrous Oxide - as soon as his arrears are clear and I can get him to think straight - I'll be encouraging him to look at his penalty charges. However, it looks like he's got a few more debts to deal with in the meantime, but not as serious as the repossession threat.

You're right about the good feeling you get when you help someone -managed to get another guy "on the right road" this morning too....... He was so distressed by the constant phonecalls from a DCA he couldn't sleep and therefore wasn't fit to come to work in the morning, this was affecting his earnings - a vicious circle that hopefully will ease soon.

[B.A.Ts]

Its great to see a happy ending in here.. just shows that a place like this does work. debt is a terrible burden for people to bare and most often bury their head in the sand and hope it will eventually go away but alas this is not the case, Im also learning about the laws and regulations with regards to debt and bailiffs and this site has been a great source of information and help and in turn I have been able to pass help on to people with debt problems etc well done you *hug,

[Ell-enn]

ODC, thanks for the tickle - and for the suggestion - consider it done 1st thing in the morning, though I'll probably say they could come through HR (in confidence of course) if they don't own a PC or have computer skills.